Sacred Structures by Jim Bakerhttps://sacredstructures.org
Mon, 19 Mar 2018 01:31:17 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.461546612An Alternate Approach To Command, Demand, and Control Leadershiphttps://sacredstructures.org/might/3024/
https://sacredstructures.org/might/3024/#respondTue, 13 Mar 2018 12:05:23 +0000https://sacredstructures.org/?p=3024Last week we looked at the history, definition, and outcomes of the Command, Demand, and Control Leadership approach that has become so popular in businesses and churches in recent decades. This week we examine an alternate approach for church leaders to consider. The Church and Culture Has Changed Today’s churches are too large, too complex,... Continue Reading

]]>https://sacredstructures.org/might/3024/feed/03024Command, Demand, and Control Leadershiphttps://sacredstructures.org/might/command-demand-control-leadership-2/
https://sacredstructures.org/might/command-demand-control-leadership-2/#respondTue, 06 Mar 2018 11:04:24 +0000https://sacredstructures.org/?p=3026Command, demand, and control is a common leadership style in the local church. Many of today’s church leaders were mentored themselves by command, demand, and control leaders, and therefore the culture of most churches is based on command, demand, and control behaviors. A command, demand, and control leadership approach is based on models from the... Continue Reading

]]>https://sacredstructures.org/might/command-demand-control-leadership-2/feed/03026Parkinson’s Second Law and Church Budgetshttps://sacredstructures.org/money/parkinsons-second-law-church-budgets/
https://sacredstructures.org/money/parkinsons-second-law-church-budgets/#respondTue, 27 Feb 2018 11:04:59 +0000https://sacredstructures.org/?p=3064In the article, “Church Staffing Levels – Getting It Right,” we examined the effect of Parkinson’s First Law, “work expands to fill the time allotted” and its application to church staffing. A corollary is Parkinson’s Second Law, “expenditures rise to meet income,” a law that has application to church budgets and expenditures. Northcote Parkinson’s satirical... Continue Reading

]]>https://sacredstructures.org/money/parkinsons-second-law-church-budgets/feed/03064Church Staffing Levels: Getting It Righthttps://sacredstructures.org/manpower/church-staffing-levels-getting-right/
https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/church-staffing-levels-getting-right/#commentsTue, 20 Feb 2018 12:05:51 +0000https://sacredstructures.org/?p=3042Following World War II, English historian, C. Northcote Parkinson wrote a well-known book, Parkinson’s Law: The Pursuit of Progress, where he ridiculed the excesses of government bureaucracy. Parkinson cited as an example the 5,000 employees supporting 5,000 English Navy vessels during the war and the same number of employees supporting only 500 vessels following the... Continue Reading

]]>https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/church-staffing-levels-getting-right/feed/13042Should You Hire More or Less Church Staff?https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/hire-less-church-staff/
https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/hire-less-church-staff/#respondTue, 13 Feb 2018 12:05:09 +0000https://sacredstructures.org/?p=3039The staffing structures of many Southern Baptist Churches has been influenced by the philosophy of W.A. Criswell, Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas (1944-1991). Dr. Criswell was known to employee numerous Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary students and graduates to oversee very narrow and specific age demographics. Criswell was said to have set recruitment goals... Continue Reading

]]>https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/hire-less-church-staff/feed/03039Does a Lean Staff Really Increase Volunteers?https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/lean-staff-really-increase-volunteerism/
https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/lean-staff-really-increase-volunteerism/#respondTue, 06 Feb 2018 12:05:40 +0000https://sacredstructures.org/?p=3035Much is being written about the evidence that leaner church staffs result in increased numbers of volunteers. For some it appears the verdict is in and they are prepared to declare unequivocally that too many staff negatively impacts volunteerism. My problem with this assumption, besides my own experience to the contrary, is summed up in... Continue Reading

]]>https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/lean-staff-really-increase-volunteerism/feed/03035Leader Engagement….Getting It Righthttps://sacredstructures.org/manpower/leader-engagement-getting-right/
https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/leader-engagement-getting-right/#respondTue, 30 Jan 2018 12:06:19 +0000https://sacredstructures.org/?p=3048In last week’s post, Where Are You On The Leader Engagement Continuum?, we looked at the symptoms of too much, too little, too early, and too late leader engagement with subordinates. This week we examine the causes of ineffective leader engagement and the behaviors that lead to appropriate and timely leader engagement with those they... Continue Reading

]]>https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/leader-engagement-getting-right/feed/03048Where Are You On The Leader Engagement Continuum?https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/leader-engagement-continuum/
https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/leader-engagement-continuum/#respondTue, 23 Jan 2018 12:05:41 +0000https://sacredstructures.org/?p=3013One of a church leader’s continual challenges is knowing when and how much to engage with their employees, volunteers, or teams. Leader engagement is the face to face or transmitted interactions and involvement with those they lead, and falls on a continuum from low to high, and from too early to too late. Much like... Continue Reading

]]>https://sacredstructures.org/manpower/leader-engagement-continuum/feed/03013Mission and Vision Begins At Home https://sacredstructures.org/mission/mission-vision-begins-home/
https://sacredstructures.org/mission/mission-vision-begins-home/#respondTue, 16 Jan 2018 12:05:35 +0000https://sacredstructures.org/?p=3003For many of the years I served as Executive Pastor at Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, TN we were in some type of building program. This meant I spent countless hours in the City Manager’s Office preparing for various presentations before the Zoning Commission, City Planning Commission, and City Council. During one such meeting the... Continue Reading

]]>https://sacredstructures.org/mission/mission-vision-begins-home/feed/03003Where Can You Find Acres of Diamonds?https://sacredstructures.org/maximization/can-find-acres-diamonds/
https://sacredstructures.org/maximization/can-find-acres-diamonds/#respondTue, 09 Jan 2018 12:05:57 +0000https://sacredstructures.org/?p=3000In the late 1800’s Russell Conwell became famous for his lecture in which he encouraged listeners to find the “acres of diamonds” in their own backyards. Conwell was a Baptist minister, the first president of Temple University, and a captain during the Civil War. At the ten year reunion of his troops, he delivered the... Continue Reading

]]>https://sacredstructures.org/maximization/can-find-acres-diamonds/feed/030002017 Top 10 Posts Part 2https://sacredstructures.org/general/2017-top-10-posts-part-2/
https://sacredstructures.org/general/2017-top-10-posts-part-2/#respondTue, 02 Jan 2018 12:05:51 +0000https://sacredstructures.org/?p=3010Below are the second five of the Top 10 Sacred Structures posts for 2017. Enjoy! Don’t Mistake Church Climate for Church Culture Church Culture As Community, Cause, And Corporation 25 Questions Every Pastor Search Committee Should Ask A Self-Development Structure In Hebrew Scripture 15 Approaches To Reach The Next Generations

]]>https://sacredstructures.org/general/2017-top-10-posts-part-2/feed/030102017 Top Ten Posts Part 1https://sacredstructures.org/general/2017-top-ten-posts-part-1/
https://sacredstructures.org/general/2017-top-ten-posts-part-1/#respondTue, 26 Dec 2017 12:05:53 +0000https://sacredstructures.org/?p=3007Below are links to the first five of the Top 10 most popular Sacred Structures posts for 2017. Check in next week for the second five. Enjoy! ME Power and WE Power: Two Sources of Power in the Church My Greatest Leadership Lesson: I Am The Problem Your Inner Spiritual Life How To Respond To... Continue Reading